The June unemployment rate saw a significant increase in only 1 of Illinois' 12 metro areas as Decatur's rate increased from 10.5% in 2011 to 11% last month.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday that the state's other metro areas essentially remained the same or saw decreases. The largest decline was in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area where the June unemployment rate dropped 1.5%age points to 9.4%.

The Kankakee-Bradley area dropped 0.9%age point to 11.2%, and Rockford also was down 0.9 of a point to 11.5%.

Employment Security Director Jay Rowell says manufacturing and other private-sector job growth are pushing the Illinois economy to "an uneven recovery." But he calls the steady progress in the state "encouraging."